"It hasn't aged well, but still an excellent game."

Don’t get this game for the girl! Seriously, this game is easily one of the Most Innovative, awe inspiring, superb games for The Playstation. This was the only Playstation game I ever played from beginning to end, being frustrated by challenging puzzles, and wanted to complete. You take on the role of Archaeologist Lara Croft. You take her round the globe, to retrieve three pieces of the Atlanteans mysterious Power giving artifact, the Scion. You are sent by a right little Cruella De vill, Miss Natla and her Bumbling Sidekicks Larson And Pierre. This artifact brought all the power to the two just rulers of Atlantis, Tihocan and Qualapec.

There are literally HUGE Environments on offer. You travel from Rome, to Egypt to Atlantis, Battling Rats, Centaur’s and Wolves. The sense of scale is amazing. The Lost Valley level, makes you feel uneasy and tense The Brilliant music and stalking atmosphere keeps the tension superbly. The Plot is excellent (For a Game) and the Characters are Clichéd but fun. Bumbling Hit men Larson and Pierre who want the Artifacts are so stupid you end up liking them. Sterotypical, too, Frenchman and Texan. Natla Is a great change from the typical male villain and a huge monster steals the show at the death.

Even Now, these graphics (Circa 1995) are still stunning as ever. Even though the later installments have had enhanced engines. Textures are slightly glitchy. Sometimes when you walk near a door, you can see right through it. But that's just a small nitpick. Sometimes the textures are also a bit off, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Graphics such as these usually come at the expense of gameplay, but certainly not here. The sense of scale is sometimes stunning. You slide off the back of giant sphinx, and find yourself dwarfed by the huge surroundings. that's when you realize this game is something good.

Gameplay is superb. You negotiate obstacles by running, jumping and shooting. It reminds you of Indiana Jones. There are elaborate deathtraps that make you want to kill Lara just to see it. The wealth of this is stunning. Lara Can drown, be impale, fall, get set on fire, get shot and even turn into a statue. Features like the Sword of Damocles and The Egyptian Sphinx’s make you savor every moment in this game. Also, The tension is increased knowing that Hit man Pierre was round the corner. The lack of Human enemies makes it very tensional and spooky. (Tombs and everything). This sense has never returned in future titles. Puzzles are still a bit challenging, but not difficult to the extreme. Save game crystals are very rare and sometimes you'll find yourself going back and repeating parts of levels all over again. But the lack of these crystals makes you want to be a bit more careful

The Music Is superb. Brilliant Classical tunes flow throughout the levels and just captures the tension of the game. Tunes for all sorts of situations. Danger, Discovery and Mystical. Full motion video is good for it's age. Voice acting is average but they are not on it much (Cinema is rare). The Ambience affects are brilliant. Roars, screams, running water; gunshots are all there in their glory.

This Game is unputdownable and brilliant. There is a Great challenge of 16 superb long levels and you will want to come back to find the secrets. Instantly playable and ever lasting, The first in the series wa always the bst. It may not have aged brilliantly, Hence the 8/10 instead of 9, but you will never forget this game. Superb.